I finally arrived at this remote guesthouse.

All the way, I was dialing the number Uncle Yuan left me.

But it couldn't get through. She turned off her phone.

The landlady was sweeping leaves. When she saw me, she smiled and asked, "Are you looking for accommodation?"

I asked hoarsely, "Is there a girl staying here? She's wearing black clothes and a black hat today."

She asked, "Are you her friend?"

I said, "Can you tell me which room she's staying in? Please."

The landlady frowned and said, "I can't tell you that. You should contact her yourself."

I trembled and scanned the QR code on her table with my phone. "I'll give you money. How much do you need to tell me? Is a thousand yuan enough? Two thousand?"

I showed her the screen that indicated the successful payment and looked at her. "Can you tell me... which room she's in?"

The landlady was frightened. She slowly backed away and looked at me with a gaze reserved for lunatics.

In the mirror by the entrance, I saw myself.

In the deep autumn season, I was wearing short sleeves and slippers. My previously neat hair was disheveled by the wind, indeed resembling a mentally disturbed man.

I smiled and took a few steps back, sitting down at the entrance of the guesthouse, repeatedly dialing that phone number.

Lu Yinong, please pick up, please pick up.

But the mechanical voice kept saying, "The number you dialed is turned off. Please try again later..."

I leaned against the wall and slowly felt my breath being constricted again.

Suddenly, a dog barked—a white one—rushing towards me as if it had seen an intruder.

The landlady scolded in panic, "Zhaocai, go away, go away!"

I tried to hide while leaning against the wall, but my legs went numb, and I fell back to where I was before.

I covered my head with both hands, and my heartbeat was about to stop.

In the next second, the dog leash was tightly pulled by someone.

The big dog that had just roared angrily suddenly became docile, wagging around her legs.

She lowered her eyes and looked at me, containing countless emotions that were all suppressed.

Lu Yinong.

Trembling, I reached out to touch her face.

Her warm skin was not an illusion.

She held my hand and walked inside, passing by the landlady. She nodded at her and said, "This is my friend."

The door opened, closed again, and she let go of my hand.

Her room was almost dark. She reached out and turned on the lights, then took out a scarf from her suitcase and handed it to me.

"Put it on, or you'll catch a cold."

I snatched the scarf and threw it aside.

Then I walked over and hugged her tightly.

It was as if in an instant, I became weak, and tears gushed out.

She stiffened.

I couldn't say a word, I just knew I had to hold her tighter.

She didn't disappear, she wasn't swallowed by a raging fire, she wasn't lying in that tiny box.

Yinong, my Yinong, she was truly in my arms.

After I don't know how long, Lu Yinong suddenly pushed me away, her movements gentle yet resolute.

Her eyes were a little red, but she smiled and said, "Yi Zhou, happy newlywed."